Using wearable devices to capture actions of participants in a meeting

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for capture actions of users participating within a virtual conference and conveying those actions to participants of the virtual conference. The systems and methods include connecting to at least one wearable device, connecting to a virtual conference device connected to a virtual conference hosted by a virtual conference provider, receiving sensor data from the at least one wearable device, identifying one or more expressions based on the sensor data, and transmitting the identified one or more expressions to the virtual conference device to be provided to the virtual conference provider for conveyance within the virtual conference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to using wearable devices tocapture movement of users, and more particularly, to capture actions ofusers participating within a virtual conference and conveying thoseactions to participants of the virtual conference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration depicting an example video conferencing systemin accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is an illustration depicting an example video conferencing systemin accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show examples systems for using wearable devices captureactions of users participating within a virtual conference;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an example system for using wearable devicescapture actions of users participating within a virtual conference;

FIG. 4C shows an example graphical user interface for virtual conferenceapplication;

FIG. 5 shows an example graphical user interface for virtualconferences;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show example methods for using wearable devices captureactions of users participating within a virtual conference; and

FIG. 8 shows an example computing device suitable for use with systemsand methods in accordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofcertain embodiments. However, it will be apparent that variousembodiments may be practiced without these specific details. The figuresand description are not intended to be restrictive. The word “exemplary”is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, orillustration.” Any embodiment or design described herein as “exemplary”is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous overother embodiments or designs.

During a virtual conference, participants may engage with each other todiscuss any matters of interest. Typically, such participants willinteract in a virtual conference using a camera and microphone, whichprovide video and audio streams (each a “media” stream; collectively“multimedia” streams) that can be delivered to the other participants bythe virtual conference provider and be displayed via the various clientdevices' displays or speakers.

Participants may use software applications running on their clientdevices to join a video conference and use a camera and microphone toprovide video and audio streams to the other participants. In somecases, participants may all gather in a larger room, such as a commonarea, and collectively join a video conference using video conferencingequipment within the room, such as a large display screen on one of theroom's walls, one or more microphones positioned on a conference table,and a camera positioned to capture the room and the participants withinit.

In settings like these, users may be positioned throughout the room,which may mean that some are positioned near to one of the availablecamera(s), while others may not be. While participants within the samecommon area may be able to interact and emote effectively to oneanother, it may be difficult for those same participants to interact andemote with other users connected to the virtual conference remotely. Forexample, the physical interactions, body language, facial expressions ofparticipants who are distant from the camera(s) in the common area, maybe difficult to convey to participants accessing the video conferenceremotely. To help to improve participant interaction in such settings,the present disclosure may leverage wearable devices of participants tobetter capture the physical interactions of the participants. Toleverage the data from the wearable devices, the present disclosure mayalso allow the users to user a personal device, such as a smartphone,paired to the wearable device to provide information from the wearabledevices to the virtual conference.

Information from the wearable devices can be interpreted and/ortransformed into graphical representations of the physical actions ofthe wearers and the graphical representations can be provided to thevirtual conference for all participants to take in. For example, aparticipant wearing a smart watch can clap their hands, the motion datacan be interpreted by the personal device paired to the watch, and themotion data can be compared to predefined rules to identify a matchinggraphical representation (or expression) for clapping. In anotherexample, a participant wearing a smart glasses can shake their head, themotion data can be interpreted by the personal device paired to thewatch, and the motion data can be compared to predefined rules toidentify a matching graphical representation (or expression) for headshaking. Thereafter, the graphical representation for clapping or headshaking can be shared within the virtual meeting. The remote users canthen see that at least one of the participants in the common areameeting room is clapping or shaking their head within the context of therest of the conference. This can provide an immersive virtual conferenceexperience without requiring users to take additional steps to inputtheir own expressions (e.g., via a shared input device). As a result,the user can be clearly heard by the other participants in the videoconference and the experience is improved for all of the participants.

This illustrative example is given to introduce the reader to thegeneral subject matter discussed herein and the disclosure is notlimited to this example. The following sections describe variousadditional non-limiting examples and examples of using wearable devicescapture actions of users participating within a virtual conference andconveying those actions to participants of the virtual conference.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , FIG. 1 shows an example system 100 thatprovides videoconferencing functionality to various client devices. Thesystem 100 includes a video conference provider 110 that is connected tomultiple communication networks 120, 130, through which various clientdevices 140-180 can participate in video conferences hosted by the videoconference provider 110. For example, the video conference provider 110can be located within a private network to provide video conferencingservices to devices within the private network, or it can be connectedto a public network, e.g., the internet, so it may be accessed byanyone. Some examples may even provide a hybrid model in which a videoconference provider 110 may supply components to enable a privateorganization to host private internal video conferences or to connectits system to the video conference provider 110 over a public network.

The system optionally also includes one or more user identity providers,e.g., user identity provider 115, which can provide user identityservices to users of the client devices 140-160 and may authenticateuser identities of one or more users to the video conference provider110. In this example, the user identity provider 115 is operated by adifferent entity than the video conference provider 110, though in someexamples, they may be the same entity.

Video conference provider 110 allows clients to create videoconferencemeetings (or “meetings”) and invite others to participate in thosemeetings as well as perform other related functionality, such asrecording the meetings, generating transcripts from meeting audio,manage user functionality in the meetings, enable text messaging duringthe meetings, create and manage breakout rooms from the main meeting,etc. FIG. 2 , described below, provides a more detailed description ofthe architecture and functionality of the video conference provider 110.

Meetings in this example video conference provider 110 are provided invirtual “rooms” to which participants are connected. The room in thiscontext is a construct provided by a server that provides a common pointat which the various video and audio data is received before beingmultiplexed and provided to the various participants. While a “room” isthe label for this concept in this disclosure, any suitablefunctionality that enables multiple participants to participate in acommon videoconference may be used. Further, in some examples, and asalluded to above, a meeting may also have “breakout” rooms. Suchbreakout rooms may also be rooms that are associated with a “main”videoconference room. Thus, participants in the main videoconferenceroom may exit the room into a breakout room, e.g., to discuss aparticular topic, before returning to the main room. The breakout roomsin this example are discrete meetings that are associated with themeeting in the main room. However, to join a breakout room, aparticipant must first enter the main room. A room may have any numberof associated breakout rooms according to various examples.

To create a meeting with the video conference provider 110, a user maycontact the video conference provider 110 using a client device 140-180and select an option to create a new meeting. Such an option may beprovided in a webpage accessed by a client device 140-160 or clientapplication executed by a client device 140-160. For telephony devices,the user may be presented with an audio menu that they may navigate bypressing numeric buttons on their telephony device. To create themeeting, the video conference provider 110 may prompt the user forcertain information, such as a date, time, and duration for the meeting,a number of participants, a type of encryption to use, whether themeeting is confidential or open to the public, etc. After receiving thevarious meeting settings, the video conference provider may create arecord for the meeting and generate a meeting identifier and, in someexamples, a corresponding meeting password or passcode (or otherauthentication information), all of which meeting information isprovided to the meeting host.

After receiving the meeting information, the user may distribute themeeting information to one or more users to invite them to the meeting.To begin the meeting at the scheduled time (or immediately, if themeeting was set for an immediate start), the host provides the meetingidentifier and, if applicable, corresponding authentication information(e.g., a password or passcode). The video conference system theninitiates the meeting and may admit users to the meeting. Depending onthe options set for the meeting, the users may be admitted immediatelyupon providing the appropriate meeting identifier (and authenticationinformation, as appropriate), even if the host has not yet arrived, orthe users may be presented with information indicating that the meetinghas not yet started or the host may be required to specifically admitone or more of the users.

During the meeting, the participants may employ their client devices140-180 to capture audio or video information and stream thatinformation to the video conference provider 110. They also receiveaudio or video information from the video conference provider 110, whichis displayed by the respective client device 140 to enable the varioususers to participate in the meeting.

At the end of the meeting, the host may select an option to terminatethe meeting, or it may terminate automatically at a scheduled end timeor after a predetermined duration. When the meeting terminates, thevarious participants are disconnected from the meeting and they will nolonger receive audio or video streams for the meeting (and will stoptransmitting audio or video streams). The video conference provider 110may also invalidate the meeting information, such as the meetingidentifier or password/passcode.

To provide such functionality, one or more client devices 140-180 maycommunicate with the video conference provider 110 using one or morecommunication networks, such as network 120 or the public switchedtelephone network (“PSTN”) 130. The client devices 140-180 may be anysuitable computing or communications device that have audio or videocapability. For example, client devices 140-160 may be conventionalcomputing devices, such as desktop or laptop computers having processorsand computer-readable media, connected to the video conference provider110 using the internet or other suitable computer network. Suitablenetworks include the internet, any local area network (“LAN”), metroarea network (“MAN”), wide area network (“WAN”), cellular network (e.g.,3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, etc.), or any combination of these. Other types ofcomputing devices may be used instead or as well, such as tablets,smartphones, and dedicated video conferencing equipment. Each of thesedevices may provide both audio and video capabilities and may enable oneor more users to participate in a video conference meeting hosted by thevideo conference provider 110.

In addition to the computing devices discussed above, client devices140-180 may also include one or more telephony devices, such as cellulartelephones (e.g., cellular telephone 80), internet protocol (“IP”)phones (e.g., telephone 180), or conventional telephones. Such telephonydevices may allow a user to make conventional telephone calls to othertelephony devices using the PSTN, including the video conferenceprovider 110. It should be appreciated that certain computing devicesmay also provide telephony functionality and may operate as telephonydevices. For example, smartphones typically provide cellular telephonecapabilities and thus may operate as telephony devices in the examplesystem 100 shown in FIG. 1 . In addition, conventional computing devicesmay execute software to enable telephony functionality, which may allowthe user to make and receive phone calls, e.g., using a headset andmicrophone. Such software may communicate with a PSTN gateway to routethe call from a computer network to the PSTN. Thus, telephony devicesencompass any devices that can make conventional telephone calls and isnot limited solely to dedicated telephony devices like conventionaltelephones.

Referring again to client devices 140-160, these devices 140-160 contactthe video conference provider 110 using network 120 and may provideinformation to the video conference provider 110 to access functionalityprovided by the video conference provider 110, such as access to createnew meetings or join existing meetings. To do so, the client devices140-160 may provide user identification information, meetingidentifiers, meeting passwords or passcodes, etc. In examples thatemploy a user identity provider 115, a client device, e.g., clientdevices 140-160, may operate in conjunction with a user identityprovider 115 to provide user identification information or other userinformation to the video conference provider 110.

A user identity provider 115 may be any entity trusted by the videoconference provider 110 that can help identify a user to the videoconference provider 110. For example, a trusted entity may be a serveroperated by a business or other organization and with whom the user hasestablished their identity, such as an employer or trusted third-party.The user may sign into the user identity provider 115, such as byproviding a username and password, to access their identity at the useridentity provider 115. The identity, in this sense, is informationestablished and maintained at the user identity provider 115 that can beused to identify a particular user, irrespective of the client devicethey may be using. An example of an identity may be an email accountestablished at the user identity provider 110 by the user and secured bya password or additional security features, such as biometricauthentication, two-factor authentication, etc. However, identities maybe distinct from functionality such as email. For example, a health careprovider may establish identities for its patients. And while suchidentities may have associated email accounts, the identity is distinctfrom those email accounts. Thus, a user's “identity” relates to asecure, verified set of information that is tied to a particular userand should be accessible only by that user. By accessing the identity,the associated user may then verify themselves to other computingdevices or services, such as the video conference provider 110.

When the user accesses the video conference provider 110 using a clientdevice, the video conference provider 110 communicates with the useridentity provider 115 using information provided by the user to verifythe user's identity. For example, the user may provide a username orcryptographic signature associated with a user identity provider 115.The user identity provider 115 then either confirms the user's identityor denies the request. Based on this response, the video conferenceprovider 110 either provides or denies access to its services,respectively.

For telephony devices, e.g., client devices 80-180, the user may place atelephone call to the video conference provider 110 to access videoconference services. After the call is answered, the user may provideinformation regarding a video conference meeting, e.g., a meetingidentifier (“ID”), a passcode or password, etc., to allow the telephonydevice to join the meeting and participate using audio devices of thetelephony device, e.g., microphone(s) and speaker(s), even if videocapabilities are not provided by the telephony device.

Because telephony devices typically have more limited functionality thanconventional computing devices, they may be unable to provide certaininformation to the video conference provider 110. For example, telephonydevices may be unable to provide user identification information toidentify the telephony device or the user to the video conferenceprovider 110. Thus, the video conference provider 110 may provide morelimited functionality to such telephony devices. For example, the usermay be permitted to join a meeting after providing meeting information,e.g., a meeting identifier and passcode, but they may be identified onlyas an anonymous participant in the meeting. This may restrict theirability to interact with the meetings in some examples, such as bylimiting their ability to speak in the meeting, hear or view certaincontent shared during the meeting, or access other meetingfunctionality, such as joining breakout rooms or engaging in text chatwith other participants in the meeting.

It should be appreciated that users may choose to participate inmeetings anonymously and decline to provide user identificationinformation to the video conference provider 110, even in cases wherethe user has an authenticated identity and employs a client devicecapable of identifying the user to the video conference provider 110.The video conference provider 110 may determine whether to allow suchanonymous users to use services provided by the video conferenceprovider 110. Anonymous users, regardless of the reason for anonymity,may be restricted as discussed above with respect to users employingtelephony devices, and in some cases may be prevented from accessingcertain meetings or other services, or may be entirely prevented fromaccessing the video conference provider 110.

Referring again to video conference provider 110, in some examples, itmay allow client devices 140-160 to encrypt their respective video andaudio streams to help improve privacy in their meetings. Encryption maybe provided between the client devices 140-160 and the video conferenceprovider 110 or it may be provided in an end-to-end configuration wheremultimedia streams transmitted by the client devices 140-160 are notdecrypted until they are received by another client device 140-160participating in the meeting. Encryption may also be provided duringonly a portion of a communication, for example encryption may be usedfor otherwise unencrypted communications that cross internationalborders.

Client-to-server encryption may be used to secure the communicationsbetween the client devices 140-160 and the video conference provider110, while allowing the video conference provider 110 to access thedecrypted multimedia streams to perform certain processing, such asrecording the meeting for the participants or generating transcripts ofthe meeting for the participants. End-to-end encryption may be used tokeep the meeting entirely private to the participants without any worryabout a video conference provider 110 having access to the substance ofthe meeting. Any suitable encryption methodology may be employed,including key-pair encryption of the streams. For example, to provideend-to-end encryption, the meeting host's client device may obtainpublic keys for each of the other client devices participating in themeeting and securely exchange a set of keys to encrypt and decryptmultimedia content transmitted during the meeting. Thus, the clientdevices 140-160 may securely communicate with each other during themeeting. Further, in some examples, certain types of encryption may belimited by the types of devices participating in the meeting. Forexample, telephony devices may lack the ability to encrypt and decryptmultimedia streams. Thus, while encrypting the multimedia streams may bedesirable in many instances, it is not required as it may prevent someusers from participating in a meeting.

By using the example system shown in FIG. 1 , users can create andparticipate in meetings using their respective client devices 140-180via the video conference provider 110. Further, such a system enablesusers to use a wide variety of different client devices 140-180 fromtraditional standards-based video conferencing hardware to dedicatedvideo conferencing equipment to laptop or desktop computers to handhelddevices to legacy telephony devices, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , FIG. 2 shows an example system 200 in which avideo conference provider 210 provides videoconferencing functionalityto various client devices 220-250. The client devices 220-250 includetwo conventional computing devices 220-230, dedicated equipment for avideo conference room 240, and a telephony device 250. Each clientdevice 220-250 communicates with the video conference provider 210 overa communications network, such as the internet for client devices220-240 or the PSTN for client device 250, generally as described abovewith respect to FIG. 1 . The video conference provider 210 is also incommunication with one or more user identity providers 215, which canauthenticate various users to the video conference provider 210generally as described above with respect to FIG. 1 .

In this example, the video conference provider 210 employs multipledifferent servers (or groups of servers) to provide different aspects ofvideo conference functionality, thereby enabling the various clientdevices to create and participate in video conference meetings. Thevideo conference provider 210 uses one or more real-time media servers212, one or more network services servers 214, one or more video roomgateways 216, and one or more telephony gateways 218. Each of theseservers 212-218 is connected to one or more communications networks toenable them to collectively provide access to and participation in oneor more video conference meetings to the client devices 220-250.

The real-time media servers 212 provide multiplexed multimedia streamsto meeting participants, such as the client devices 220-250 shown inFIG. 2 . While video and audio streams typically originate at therespective client devices, they are transmitted from the client devices220-250 to the video conference provider 210 via one or more networkswhere they are received by the real-time media servers 212. Thereal-time media servers 212 determine which protocol is optimal basedon, for example, proxy settings and the presence of firewalls, etc. Forexample, the client device might select among UDP, TCP, TLS, or HTTPSfor audio and video and UDP for content screen sharing.

The real-time media servers 212 then multiplex the various video andaudio streams based on the target client device and communicatemultiplexed streams to each client device. For example, the real-timemedia servers 212 receive audio and video streams from client devices220-240 and only an audio stream from client device 250. The real-timemedia servers 212 then multiplex the streams received from devices230-250 and provide the multiplexed streams to client device 220. Thereal-time media servers 212 are adaptive, for example, reacting toreal-time network and client changes, in how they provide these streams.For example, the real-time media servers 212 may monitor parameters suchas a client's bandwidth CPU usage, memory and network I/O as well asnetwork parameters such as packet loss, latency and jitter to determinehow to modify the way in which streams are provided.

The client device 220 receives the stream, performs any decryption,decoding, and demultiplexing on the received streams, and then outputsthe audio and video using the client device's video and audio devices.In this example, the real-time media servers do not multiplex clientdevice 220's own video and audio feeds when transmitting streams to it.Instead, each client device 220-250 only receives multimedia streamsfrom other client devices 220-250. For telephony devices that lack videocapabilities, e.g., client device 250, the real-time media servers 212only deliver multiplex audio streams. The client device 220 may receivemultiple streams for a particular communication, allowing the clientdevice 220 to switch between streams to provide a higher quality ofservice.

In addition to multiplexing multimedia streams, the real-time mediaservers 212 may also decrypt incoming multimedia stream in someexamples. As discussed above, multimedia streams may be encryptedbetween the client devices 220-250 and the video conference system 210.In some such examples, the real-time media servers 212 may decryptincoming multimedia streams, multiplex the multimedia streamsappropriately for the various clients, and encrypt the multiplexedstreams for transmission.

In some examples, to provide multiplexed streams, the video conferenceprovider 210 may receive multimedia streams from the variousparticipants and publish those streams to the various participants tosubscribe to and receive. Thus, the video conference provider 210notifies a client device, e.g., client device 220, about variousmultimedia streams available from the other client devices 230-250, andthe client device 220 can select which multimedia stream(s) to subscribeto and receive. In some examples, the video conference provider 210 mayprovide to each client device the available streams from the otherclient devices, but from the respective client device itself, though inother examples it may provide all available streams to all availableclient devices. Using such a multiplexing technique, the videoconference provider 210 may enable multiple different streams of varyingquality, thereby allowing client devices to change streams in real-timeas needed, e.g., based on network bandwidth, latency, etc.

As mentioned above with respect to FIG. 1 , the video conferenceprovider 210 may provide certain functionality with respect tounencrypted multimedia streams at a user's request. For example, themeeting host may be able to request that the meeting be recorded or thata transcript of the audio streams be prepared, which may then beperformed by the real-time media servers 212 using the decryptedmultimedia streams, or the recording or transcription functionality maybe off-loaded to a dedicated server (or servers), e.g., cloud recordingservers, for recording the audio and video streams. In some examples,the video conference provider 210 may allow a meeting participant tonotify it of inappropriate behavior or content in a meeting. Such anotification may trigger the real-time media servers to 212 record aportion of the meeting for review by the video conference provider 210.Still other functionality may be implemented to take actions based onthe decrypted multimedia streams at the video conference provider, suchas monitoring video or audio quality, adjusting or changing mediaencoding mechanisms, etc.

It should be appreciated that multiple real-time media servers 212 maybe involved in communicating data for a single meeting and multimediastreams may be routed through multiple different real-time media servers212. In addition, the various real-time media servers 212 may not beco-located, but instead may be located at multiple different geographiclocations, which may enable high-quality communications between clientsthat are dispersed over wide geographic areas, such as being located indifferent countries or on different continents. Further, in someexamples, one or more of these servers may be co-located on a client'spremises, e.g., at a business or other organization. For example,different geographic regions may each have one or more real-time mediaservers 212 to enable client devices in the same geographic region tohave a high-quality connection into the video conference provider 210via local servers 212 to send and receive multimedia streams, ratherthan connecting to a real-time media server located in a differentcountry or on a different continent. The local real-time media servers212 may then communicate with physically distant servers usinghigh-speed network infrastructure, e.g., internet backbone network(s),that otherwise might not be directly available to client devices 220-250themselves. Thus, routing multimedia streams may be distributedthroughout the video conference system 210 and across many differentreal-time media servers 212.

Turning to the network services servers 214, these servers 214 provideadministrative functionality to enable client devices to create orparticipate in meetings, send meeting invitations, create or manage useraccounts or subscriptions, and other related functionality. Further,these servers may be configured to perform different functionalities orto operate at different levels of a hierarchy, e.g., for specificregions or localities, to manage portions of the video conferenceprovider under a supervisory set of servers. When a client device220-250 accesses the video conference provider 210, it will typicallycommunicate with one or more network services servers 214 to accesstheir account or to participate in a meeting.

When a client device 220-250 first contacts the video conferenceprovider 210 in this example, it is routed to a network services server214. The client device may then provide access credentials for a user,e.g., a username and password or single sign-on credentials, to gainauthenticated access to the video conference provider 210. This processmay involve the network services servers 214 contacting a user identityprovider 215 to verify the provided credentials. Once the user'scredentials have been accepted, the client device 214 may performadministrative functionality, like updating user account information, ifthe user has an identity with the video conference provider 210, orscheduling a new meeting, by interacting with the network servicesservers 214.

In some examples, users may access the video conference provider 210anonymously. When communicating anonymously, a client device 220-250 maycommunicate with one or more network services servers 214 but onlyprovide information to create or join a meeting, depending on whatfeatures the video conference provider allows for anonymous users. Forexample, an anonymous user may access the video conference providerusing client 220 and provide a meeting ID and passcode. The networkservices server 214 may use the meeting ID to identify an upcoming oron-going meeting and verify the passcode is correct for the meeting ID.After doing so, the network services server(s) 214 may then communicateinformation to the client device 220 to enable the client device 220 tojoin the meeting and communicate with appropriate real-time mediaservers 212.

In cases where a user wishes to schedule a meeting, the user (anonymousor authenticated) may select an option to schedule a new meeting and maythen select various meeting options, such as the date and time for themeeting, the duration for the meeting, a type of encryption to be used,one or more users to invite, privacy controls (e.g., not allowinganonymous users, preventing screen sharing, manually authorize admissionto the meeting, etc.), meeting recording options, etc. The networkservices servers 214 may then create and store a meeting record for thescheduled meeting. When the scheduled meeting time arrives (or within athreshold period of time in advance), the network services server(s) 214may accept requests to join the meeting from various users.

To handle requests to join a meeting, the network services server(s) 214may receive meeting information, such as a meeting ID and passcode, fromone or more client devices 220-250. The network services server(s) 214locate a meeting record corresponding to the provided meeting ID andthen confirm whether the scheduled start time for the meeting hasarrived, whether the meeting host has started the meeting, and whetherthe passcode matches the passcode in the meeting record. If the requestis made by the host, the network services server(s) 214 activates themeeting and connects the host to a real-time media server 212 to enablethe host to begin sending and receiving multimedia streams.

Once the host has started the meeting, subsequent users requestingaccess will be admitted to the meeting if the meeting record is locatedand the passcode matches the passcode supplied by the requesting clientdevice 220-250. In some examples additional access controls may be usedas well. But if the network services server(s) 214 determines to admitthe requesting client device 220-250 to the meeting, the networkservices server 214 identifies a real-time media server 212 to handlemultimedia streams to and from the requesting client device 220-250 andprovides information to the client device 220-250 to connect to theidentified real-time media server 212. Additional client devices 220-250may be added to the meeting as they request access through the networkservices server(s) 214.

After joining a meeting, client devices will send and receive multimediastreams via the real-time media servers 212, but they may alsocommunicate with the network services servers 214 as needed duringmeetings. For example, if the meeting host leaves the meeting, thenetwork services server(s) 214 may appoint another user as the newmeeting host and assign host administrative privileges to that user.Hosts may have administrative privileges to allow them to manage theirmeetings, such as by enabling or disabling screen sharing, muting orremoving users from the meeting, creating sub-meetings or “break-out”rooms, recording meetings, etc. Such functionality may be managed by thenetwork services server(s) 214.

For example, if a host wishes to remove a user from a meeting, they mayidentify the user and issue a command through a user interface on theirclient device. The command may be sent to a network services server 214,which may then disconnect the identified user from the correspondingreal-time media server 212. If the host wishes to create a break-outroom for one or more meeting participants to join, such a command mayalso be handled by a network services server 214, which may create a newmeeting record corresponding to the break-out room and then connect oneor more meeting participants to the break-out room similarly to how itoriginally admitted the participants to the meeting itself.

In addition to creating and administering on-going meetings, the networkservices server(s) 214 may also be responsible for closing andtearing-down meetings once they have completed. For example, the meetinghost may issue a command to end an on-going meeting, which is sent to anetwork services server 214. The network services server 214 may thenremove any remaining participants from the meeting, communicate with oneor more real time media servers 212 to stop streaming audio and videofor the meeting, and deactivate, e.g., by deleting a correspondingpasscode for the meeting from the meeting record, or delete the meetingrecord(s) corresponding to the meeting. Thus, if a user later attemptsto access the meeting, the network services server(s) 214 may deny therequest.

Depending on the functionality provided by the video conferenceprovider, the network services server(s) 214 may provide additionalfunctionality, such as by providing private meeting capabilities fororganizations, special types of meetings (e.g., webinars), etc. Suchfunctionality may be provided according to various examples of videoconferencing providers according to this description.

Referring now to the video room gateway servers 216, these servers 216provide an interface between dedicated video conferencing hardware, suchas may be used in dedicated video conferencing rooms. Such videoconferencing hardware may include one or more cameras and microphonesand a computing device designed to receive video and audio streams fromeach of the cameras and microphones and connect with the videoconference provider 210. For example, the video conferencing hardwaremay be provided by the video conference provider to one or more of itssubscribers, which may provide access credentials to the videoconferencing hardware to use to connect to the video conference provider210.

The video room gateway servers 216 provide specialized authenticationand communication with the dedicated video conferencing hardware thatmay not be available to other client devices 220-230, 250. For example,the video conferencing hardware may register with the video conferenceprovider 210 when it is first installed and the video room gatewayservers 216 may authenticate the video conferencing hardware using suchregistration as well as information provided to the video room gatewayserver(s) 216 when dedicated video conferencing hardware connects to it,such as device ID information, subscriber information, hardwarecapabilities, hardware version information etc. Upon receiving suchinformation and authenticating the dedicated video conferencinghardware, the video room gateway server(s) 216 may interact with thenetwork services servers 214 and real-time media servers 212 to allowthe video conferencing hardware to create or join meetings hosted by thevideo conference provider 210.

Referring now to the telephony gateway servers 218, these servers 218enable and facilitate telephony devices' participation in meetings hosedby the video conference provider 210. Because telephony devicescommunicate using the PSTN and not using computer networking protocols,such as TCP/IP, the telephony gateway servers 218 act as an interfacethat converts between the PSTN and the networking system used by thevideo conference provider 210.

For example, if a user uses a telephony device to connect to a meeting,they may dial a phone number corresponding to one of the videoconference provider's telephony gateway servers 218. The telephonygateway server 218 will answer the call and generate audio messagesrequesting information from the user, such as a meeting ID and passcode.The user may enter such information using buttons on the telephonydevice, e.g., by sending dual-tone multi-frequency (“DTMF”) audiosignals to the telephony gateway server 218. The telephony gatewayserver 218 determines the numbers or letters entered by the user andprovides the meeting ID and passcode information to the network servicesservers 214, along with a request to join or start the meeting,generally as described above. Once the telephony client device 250 hasbeen accepted into a meeting, the telephony gateway server 218 isinstead joined to the meeting on the telephony device's behalf.

After joining the meeting, the telephony gateway server 218 receives anaudio stream from the telephony device and provides it to thecorresponding real-time media server 212 and receives audio streams fromthe real-time media server 212, decodes them, and provides the decodedaudio to the telephony device. Thus, the telephony gateway servers 218operate essentially as client devices, while the telephony deviceoperates largely as an input/output device, e.g., a microphone andspeaker, for the corresponding telephony gateway server 218, therebyenabling the user of the telephony device to participate in the meetingdespite not using a computing device or video.

It should be appreciated that the components of the video conferenceprovider 210 discussed above are merely examples of such devices and anexample architecture. Some video conference providers may provide moreor less functionality than described above and may not separatefunctionality into different types of servers as discussed above.Instead, any suitable servers and network architectures may be usedaccording to different examples.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A-3B, FIG. 3A shows an example system 300 forcapturing actions of participants through wearable devices within avirtual conference. In this example system 300, a virtual conferencedevice 330, a number of client devices 340 a-n connected to a videoconference provider 310 via a communications network 320. The clientdevices 340 a-n can be similar to client device 220, 230, 240 in FIG. 2. In this example, the communications network 320 is the internet,however, any suitable communications network or combination ofcommunications network may be employed, including combination of amobile network, WAN, LAN, or other type of network. The communicationsnetwork 320 may be used to exchange data between the virtual conferencedevice 330, client devices 340 a-n.

In this example, virtual conference device 330, similar to client device220, 230, 240 in FIG. 2 , provides video conferencing functionality to agroup of people assembled in a common area 350, such as a conferenceroom. The virtual conference device 330, in this example, includes acomputing device, camera(s), a microphone array 332, and one or morespeakers 336 installed within a common area 350. Thus, while the virtualconference device 330 operates as a client device, coupled to camera(s),a microphone array 332, and one or more speakers 336, the hardwarecomponents of the virtual conference device 330 may be dispersedthroughout the common area 350 to enable multiple people to join fromthe common area 350, rather than a personal client device, such as asmartphone, tablet computer, or laptop computer. The virtual conferencedevice 330 has virtual conferencing software installed on it to enableit to connect to virtual conferences hosted by the virtual conferenceprovider 310, to capture audio and video data using the microphone array332 and camera(s) (not shown), and exchange audio and video streams withother participants via the virtual conference provider 310. While thevirtual conference device 330, in some examples, may include dedicatedvideo conferencing equipment as discussed above, in other examples, itmay be a conventional computing device, such as a desktop or laptopcomputer, or a handheld device such as a tablet or smartphone.

Each client device 340 a-n executes video conference software, whichconnects to the video conference provider 310 and joins a meeting.During the meeting, the various participants, via their respectiveclient devices 340 a-n, are able to interact with each other to conductthe meeting, such as by viewing video streams and hearing audio streamsfrom other participants, and by capturing and transmitting video andaudio of themselves. Therefore, using the system 300 enables both usersassembling a common area 350 to participate in a virtual conference withother users located at remote locations, accessing the virtualconference through their respective client devices 340 a-n. AlthoughFIG. 3A depicts the virtual conference device 330 operating as anendpoint to deliver a virtual conference to users assembled around it,the users within the common area 350 may also have their own userdevices 345 a-n, as shown in FIG. 3B, which can be similar to the clientdevices 340 a-n and can be used to provide added functionality to thevirtual conference. Although user devices 345 a-n and client devices 340a-n can be implemented using similar devices, for purposes of thisdisclosure, the user devices 345 a-n may refer to personal user devicesthat are used within the common area 350 but are not necessarily reliedupon for delivering the virtual conference (provided by the virtualconference device 330) whereas the client devices 340 a-n may be used byother participants of the virtual conference that are situated remotelyfrom the common area 350. The user devices 345 a-n can include a virtualconferencing application 370 to allow participants to use their userdevices 345 a-n as input/out devices as well as share data with thevideo conference provider 310 (for use in the virtual conference) viathe virtual conference device 330.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, FIG. 3B shows a more detailed view of thecommon area 350 including the virtual conference device 330 and the userdevices 345 a-n. In this example, the virtual conference device 330 hasone or more cameras 334 and one or more microphone arrays 332 to allowthe user to provide data to the video conference, via the virtualconference device 330. In addition, the virtual conference device 330executes a virtual conferencing application 370 to allow participants tojoin and participate in video conferences hosted by the video conferenceprovider 310, generally as discussed above. The virtual conferencedevice 330 connects to the virtual conference provider 310 using thenetwork interface, which may be a wired interface, such as an Ethernetinterface, or a wireless interface, such as a Wi-Fi interface.

However, an issue can arise in virtual conferences when multiple peopleare grouped together within a shared space using the virtual conferencedevice 330. Specifically, when multiple participants are sharing thesame space (e.g., common room 350) during a virtual conference it may bedifficult for participants at remote locations (e.g., on client devices340 a-n) to fully interact with all of the people at the common area 350utilizing a shared virtual conference device 330. While participants atthe common area 350 can pass video and audio through the virtualconference device 330 at its related components (e.g., camera(s),microphone array 332, and speakers 336, etc.), it may be difficult toaccurately convey other interactions and reactions (e.g., due todistance, crowding, difficulty distinguishing between users, reading theroom in its entirety, etc.).

When one or a few participants are interacting during virtualconference, using a client device 340 a-n, the participants canintuitively express some emotions to the other participants in thevirtual conference through physical actions such as applauding, waving,raising hands, etc. These interactions can be easily conveyed visuallyto other participants, including those in a common area 350 sharing aclient device 340 a-n. In contrast, when multiple participants arejoining the virtual conference using a shared client device in a commonarea 350, such as virtual conference device 330, it may be difficult forthose participants to interact in a similar fashion with remoteparticipants. For example, while local participants within the commonarea 350 can interact through physical actions such as applauding,waving, raising hands, etc., it may be difficult for participantsaccessing the virtual conference remotely (e.g., via their respectiveclient devices 340 a-n) to visualize and/or fully appreciate theseinteractions.

Although participants can interact using verbal communications, usingtext (e.g., chat), and/or using chat expressions, it is difficult formultiple participants sharing a client device 340 a-n (e.g., virtualconference device 330) to access and/or use such functionalities. Forexample, there may only be one input device to access to input anexpression or text into chat and participants may be spread throughoutthe common area 350 out of reach of an input device. Additionally, itmay be difficult for participants to use an input device to interactthrough an expression function or chat to timely convey some actions andemotions during a virtual conference. If the actions of participantswithin a common area 350 can be signaled to remote participants in asimilar manner to that of the local participants within the common area350, it will provide a more immersive meeting experience for allparticipates.

Continuing with FIG. 3B, to help alleviate this issue, the presentdisclosure is configured to leverage wearable devices 360 a-n of peoplewithin the common area 350 to track the physical actions (e.g.,applauding, raising hands, waving, etc.) of those people and transmitthe tracked actions to the virtual conference device 330 and/or thevirtual conference provider 310 to be conveyed with remote participants.To enable this functionality the system 300 allows a user's personalwearable devices 360 a-n to capture physical actions of the wearer anddeliver the captured physical actions to the virtual conference device330, directly to or through an intermediary device (e.g., user device345 a-n), which can then convey a representation of the capturedphysical actions to the other participants via the virtual conferenceprovider 310. For example, if a person raises their hand, a graphicalhand raise can be presented in the virtual conference, associated withthe common area 350 “user.”

The wearable devices 360 a-n of the present disclosure can include acombination of elements for gathering data, analyzing and manipulatingdata, communicating the data, and providing information to a user,either directly through the wearable devices 360 a-n themselves orthrough another computing device (e.g., user device 345 a-n or videoconference provider 310). The wearable devices 360 a-n may have avariety of functions, including, but not limited to communicating (in awired or wireless fashion) with other electronic devices, gathering datafrom one or more sensors that may be used to initiate, control, ormodify operations of the device, monitoring a user's physiologicalsignals, and/or an amount of force exerted on the device, and usingeither or both as input, accepting voice input to control one or morefunctions, accepting tactile input to control one or more functions,etc. The sensors of the wearable device 360 a-n can include acombination of motion sensors, environmental sensors, biosensors,imaging sensors, etc. The sensors may be implemented as hardware,firmware, and/or in software.

The motion sensors may be configured to measure acceleration forces androtational forces along one or more axes. Examples of motion sensorsinclude accelerometers, gravity sensors, gyroscopes, rotational vectorsensors, significant motion sensors, step counter sensor, GlobalPositioning System (GPS) sensors, inertial measurement unit sensors,and/or any other suitable sensors. Motion sensors may be useful formonitoring device movement, such as tilt, shake, rotation, or swing. Themovement may be a reflection of direct user input, for example, a userraising their hand, clapping, pointing, etc. The motion sensors mayreturn any combination of signals or data related to the movement of theuser. For example, an accelerometer may return acceleration force datafor the three coordinate axes, and the gyroscope may return rate ofrotation data for the three coordinate axes.

The imaging sensors may be configured to observe behavior of a user andthe surrounding environment. Examples of imaging sensors can includecameras, infrared sensors, ultraviolet sensors, etc. Imaging sensors maybe useful for observing user movement and interactions within anenvironment. The movement may be a reflection of user actions, forexample, a user raising their hand, clapping, pointing, etc. The imagingsensors may return any combination of signals or data related to themovement of the user. For example, the imaging sensors can capturemovement of a user's hands/arms and provide vectors, motion capture,etc. related to the movement of a user.

The wearable devices 360 a-n may also include a display providing agraphical user interface through which the wearer of the device mayreceive information and/or alerts. The display may also be an inputdevice through which a user can interact with one or morefunctionalities of the wearable devices 360 a-n. For example, thedisplay can be a touch screen that the wearer can interact with. Forexample, the touch screen may be configured to change the text or otherinformation visible on the display.

The wearable devices 360 a-n can include any combination of devices,such as for example, smart watch, smart jewelry (e.g., bracelet, ring,necklace, anklet, etc.), glasses or goggles, clothing, chest strap,patch, etc. Different types of wearable devices 360 a-n may includedifferent combinations of sensors. For example, a smart watch caninclude motion sensors and smart glasses may include a combination ofmotion sensors or imaging sensors. During the meeting, the variousparticipants wearing wearable devices 360 a-n, are able to interact witheach other during the meeting through one or more physical actionscaptured by the wearable devices 360 a-n. To share data with the videoconference provider 310, each wearable devices 360 a-n can connect to arespective user device 345 a-n executing the video conference software,which provides a bridge to the video conference provider 310. In someinstances, the wearable device 360 a-n can execute a virtualconferencing application 370 to connect directly to the virtualconference device 330, without the need of an intermediary user device345 a-n.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, FIGS. 4A and 4B show examplesillustrations of a common area 450, such as a conference room, in whichmultiple people are sitting around a conference table. The people in thecommon area 450 can connect to a virtual conference using the virtualconference device 430 and can interact with the other participants inthe virtual conference using the components (e.g., camera, microphonearray, etc.) of the virtual conference device 430 within the common area450, as shown in FIG. 4A. People outside of the common area 450 caninteract with those in the common area 450 using their respective clientdevices 460 and can be viewed by those in the common area 450 throughthe display 438. As shown in FIG. 4A, the virtual conference device 430can connect to a virtual conference via the virtual conference provider410 through a network 420, as discussed in greater detail with respectto FIGS. 3A and 3B.

In addition to the virtual conference device 430, people in the commonarea 450 can use their personal (or other) user devices 445 a-n toconnect to the virtual conference device 430 to provide additionalfunctionality (e.g., audio input, text input, audio output, etc.). Asdiscussed above with respect to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the user devices 445a-n may be any suitable user device, such as a smartphone, tabletcomputer, or laptop computer, that are configured to load videoconference application designed to establish a communication connectionwith the virtual conference device 430. The user devices 445 a-n may beconnected to the virtual conference device 430 using any combination ofconnections, such as a wired network connection (e.g., Ethernet), auniversal serial bus (“USB”) connection, a firewire connection, orBluetooth.

To setup the user device 445 a-n to provide input for the virtualconference, the user selects an option within a graphical user interfacepresented by the virtual conference application to connect to thevirtual conference device 430, as discussed in greater detail withrespect to FIG. 4C. In response to requesting or initiating a connectionto the virtual conference device 430, the user device 445 a-n receivesan ultrasonic signal from the virtual conference device 430 using itsmicrophone. The virtual conference device 430 repeatedly transmits theultrasonic signal so that any device can receive it when needed. Becausethe signal was sent ultrasonically, e.g., at frequencies above 20 kHz,it is beyond the hearing range of the people in the common area 450 orattending the virtual conference, but it can be received and processedby the user device 445 a-n. The received ultrasonic signals are filteredfrom the audio data within an audible range, e.g., 60 Hz to 20 kHz, andthe user device 445 a-n decodes the connection information to connect tothe virtual conferencing device 430 via a network interface. Theconnection information may include a network address such as an IPaddress of the virtual conference device, a passcode, a URL, or otherinformation to enable the participant's user device 445 a-n to connectto the virtual conference device 430.

In this example, because the user device 445 a-n communicates viaultrasound, the user may not need to select a particular virtualconference device since ultrasound may not easily travel through wallsto virtual conference devices in adjacent common areas 450. However, insome examples, a user may be presented with one or more availablevirtual conference devices 430 to connect to, from which the user maythen select the appropriate device 430. Similarly, it should beappreciated that while in this example, the virtual conference device433 repeatedly transmits the ultrasonic signal, in some examples thevirtual conference device may only transmit the ultrasonic signal inresponse to a request from a user device 445 a-n for connectioninformation. For example, the user device 445 a-n may transmit anultrasonic request for connection information, which the virtualconference device 330 may receive using its speakers. The virtualconference device 330 may then generate and transmit the ultrasonicsignal including the connection information as discussed above.

While in this example, the user device 445 a-n obtains the connectioninformation using ultrasound transmissions, other techniques may beused. For example, in some examples, the network interface may include awireless connection such as Bluetooth interface, near-fieldcommunication (“NFC”) interface, or a wired interface, such as auniversal serial bus (“USB”) interface. Thus, the user device 445 a-nmay be able to connect to the virtual conference device 430 via theBluetooth interface to obtain connection information, generally asdiscussed above, and then use the connection information to connect tothe user device 445 a-n via another network connection, such as viaWi-Fi as discussed above. In some examples, the user device 445 a-n mayuse its camera (not shown) to capture a quick response (“QR”) code orbar code affixed to the virtual conference device 430 that providesconnection information to the virtual conference device 430. It may thenuse the received connection information to connect to the virtualconference device 430.

After establishing a connection between a user device 445 a-n and thevirtual conference device 430, the virtual conference device 430 canidentify a user associated with the user device 445 a-n as a participantwithin the common area 450. The user identification can be generic(e.g., a user within the common area 450 is participating in the virtualconference) or the virtual conference device 430 can specificallyidentify the user of the user device 445 a-n. The identification of thespecific user can be performed using any combination of methods. Forexample, a user can be signed into the video conference application(e.g., video conference application 370) on the user device 445 a-n andthe user login can be used to specifically identify the user asparticipating in the virtual conference from the common area 450. Withinthe virtual conference the virtual conference device 430 can beidentified as participating within the virtual conference (e.g., listedas “common area”), and if other users are identified they can also beidentified as participating within the virtual conference (e.g., as asubset of the “common area” identifier) such that remote users will beable to identify at least some of the people in the common area 450 asparticipants. As would be appreciated by one skilled in the art, thewearable devices 460 a-n can also be able to connect directly to thevirtual conference device 430 using a similar series of steps. Forexample, if the virtual conference device 430 is able to download,install, and run a video conference application, then it may be capableof establishing a connection with and exchanging data with the virtualconference device 430.

Referring to FIG. 4B, once a connection is established between the userdevice 445 a-n and the virtual conference device 430, additionalfunctionality can be enabled. For example, the user device 445 a-n maythen begin capturing and transmitting data to the virtual conferencedevice 430, The data can be provided to the virtual conference device430 to be conveyed as part of the virtual conference. The data caninclude any combination of data, such as textual data, audio data, videodata, etc. The data can also include data to be provided as one or moreexpressions to be displayed during the virtual meeting. The one or moreexpressions can include any combination of audio-visual representationthat can be provided through the virtual conference. For example, theone or more expressions can be graphical representations for a physicalaction such as a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or emoji that is used tofill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed and/or spokenconversation. The one or more expressions can be represented at anycombination of locations within the virtual conference. For example, theone or more expressions can be inserted within a chat window or they canbe overlayed on top of the video screen. When overlayed on the videoscreen, the one or more expressions can be positioned such that they arerelated to the user(s) providing the one or more expressions. Forexample, if the one or more expressions is provided via the virtualconference device, then the section of the screen associated with thevirtual conference device 430 will include the expression overlayedthereon (as shown in FIG. 5 ).

The user device 445 a-n can share data originating from other sourceswith the virtual conference device 430. In one example, the user device445 a-n can leverage the capabilities of one or more connected wearabledevices 460 a-n to trigger the one or more expressions. To leverage thecapabilities of wearable devices 460 a-n, the user device 445 a-n mayestablish a connection or pairing with a wearable device 460 a-n suchthat it can receive data and share the received data with the virtualconference device 430. The connection can include any combination ofconnections between devices, such as a wired network connection (e.g.,Ethernet), a universal serial bus (“USB”) connection, a firewireconnection, or Bluetooth. The connection process can be performed usingany combination of connection/pairing methods for the user device 445a-n and wearable device 460 a-n. For example, the wearable device 460a-n can be entered into a pairing mode, which makes it discoverable bythe user device 445 a-n and/or a pin can be entered into the user device445 a-n to establish the connection. The connection can remain active aslong as the devices are in range of one another and the connection isenabled (e.g., active Bluetooth). After the user device 445 a-n and thewearable device 460 a-n are connected they can share data according toany combination of protocols and the user device 445 a-n can store thedata and provide the data to any combination of applications on the userdevice 445 a-n, such as the virtual conference application, to beaccessed and analyzed for their own purposes.

Referring to FIG. 4C, FIG. 4C shows an example graphical user interface(GUI) 480 for the virtual conference application, for example, runningon a user device 445 a-n. The GUI 480 includes several options for theuser to select from to enable different functionality. Example optionsinclude an option 482 to create a new virtual conference, an option 484to join an on-going virtual conference, an option 486 to schedule a newvirtual conference at a later date and time, and an option 488 to enabledata gathering from a connected wearable device 460 a-n. If the option488 is selected, any data received, by the user device 445 a-n, from thewearable device 460 a-n can be accessed by the virtual conferenceapplication on the user device 445 a-n. As would be appreciated by oneskilled in the art, the wearable devices 460 a-n can run a similargraphical user interface, or one specifically designed for a wearabledevice, to connect directly to the virtual conference device 430 using asimilar series of steps.

As discussed in greater detail herein, the wearable device 460 a-n canbe configured to provide any combination of data related to movement,location, orientation of the wearable device 460 a-n as well as videoand/or audio captured by the wearable device 460 a-n. The user device445 a-n can relay the data received from the wearable device 460 a-n tothe virtual conference device 430 unmodified (to perform processing ofthe data) or it can perform some processing on the data prior totransmitting it to the virtual conference device 430 and/or the videoconference provider 410. The processing can be performed to interpretand/or transform the data received from the wearable device 460 a-n andthe processing can vary depending on the type of wearable device 460 a-nand the type of data that the wearable device 460 a-n is providing.Additionally, the different types of data may require differentprocessing, for example, motion and orientation data received from thewearable device 460 a-n will be processed differently than video data.

The data received from the wearable device 460 a-n can be interpretedand/or processed using a pre-defined set of rules or patternrecognition, for example, executed by the video conferencing application(e.g., video conferencing application 370 on user device 445 a-n). Thepre-defined set of rules or pattern recognition can be any combinationof rules or pattern matching techniques and can vary depending on thetype data being received form the wearable device 460 a-n. For example,movement data from a wearable device 460 a-n can be compared againstpredefined movement patterns to identify, match, predict an action,gesture, or movement of a wearer. The action, gesture, or movement canbe associated with an audio or video representation of an expressionthat can be conveyed as an input during the virtual conference. Forexample, if movement and orientation data received from a wearabledevice 460 a-n matches a predefined movement and orientation of aphysical thumbs up action or a clapping motion, then a thumbs upexpression or an applause expression can be selected for conveyancewithin a virtual conference. Other types of expressions can bedetermined as well, such as a user raising a hand, shaking their head,nodding their head, waving their hand, standing up, sitting down, ormaking a thumbs-down gesture.

Similarly, the type of the wearable device 460 a-n can influence how thedata is interpreted and/or processed. For example, a smart watchwearable device 460 a-n can provide motion data including movement andorientation of the smart watch that may be correlated to hand movementsof a wearer whereas a smart glasses can provide movement and orientationof the smart glasses that may be correlated to head movements of awearer. The type of the wearable device 460 a-n can help indistinguishing between which expressions to convey. For example, lateralback and forth movement data for a smart watch may indicate that a useris clapping, whereas lateral back and forth movement data for smartglasses may indicate that a user is shaking their head. Suchdistinctions can be provided by the predefined set of rules associatedwith different types of wearable devices.

The data is interpretation and/or processing can also change dependingon a number of repeated actions. For example, one lateral back and forthmovement may indicate that a user is giving a thumbs up, three lateralback and forth movements may indicate that a user is clapping, fivelateral back and forth movements may indicate that a user iscelebrating, etc. Each of the different user reactions can berepresented by a different expression. For example, “thumbs up” can berepresented by a thumbs up graphic, clapping can be presented by twohands facing one another, celebrating can be represented by fireworks,etc. By distinguishing between single unintentional actions andintentional repeated (or specific) actions, the virtual conferenceapplication can limit triggering expressions in response to simplerepetitive gestures rather than unintended body movements.

Different types of wearable devices 460 a-n can include similar rules orpatterns or distinct rules depending on where the devices are positionedon a wearer and the types of sensors the devices include. Devices wornproximate to a hand, wrist, arm, such as a smart watch, smart wristband/bracelet, smart ring, etc. can include similar expressionsassociated with a combination of predefined motions. For example, eachof these devices can associate a lateral back and forth movement withclapping, a vertical down to up movement with a hand raise, a verticaldown to up movement with back-and-forth movement can be a waving, aforward and backward movement with beckoning, a vertical down to upmovement with rotation can be a thumbs up, etc. Devices worn proximateto the head, such as smart glasses, earrings, headband, etc. can includetheir own set of similar expressions associated with a combination ofpredefined motions. For example, each of these devices can associate alateral back and forth movement with head shaking, a vertical down to upmovement with nodding, a vertical down to up movement withback-and-forth movement can be a waving, a forward and backward movementwith beckoning, etc.

Similar devices that include different combinations of sensors providingdifferent types of data can also influence the type of expressions thatcan be identified. For example, capturing video data from smart glassescan view and interpret the hand movements and finger movements toidentify more granular expressions than relying on motion alone. Forexample, video data can be used to distinguish between a thumbs up, apeace sign, pointing, etc. Additionally, multiple different wearabledevices 460 a-n can be used in conjunction to identify differentexpressions. For example, a smart watch can capture back and forthmotion of one hand (hand wearing the smart watch) and smart glasses cancapture video of both hands, such that the virtual conferenceapplication can use the combined data from both wearable devices toidentify a clapping expression, rather than other one-handedexpressions, such as if only the smart watch data was being used.

The distinction between different wearable devices 460 a-n can beprovided in any combination of methods. For example, each wearabledevice 460 a-n type can have its own table (e.g., stored within oraccessed by the virtual conference application) with differentpredefined patterns or rules therein for that wearable device. As such,the data can include the type of device, directing to a particulartable, then the movement, audio, video, etc. data can be used to lookupthe appropriate expression within that table. The different wearabledevice profiles, patterns, etc. can be stored on the user device 445 a-nrunning the virtual conference application, the virtual conferencedevice 430 running the virtual conference application, at a remoteserver (e.g., video conference provider 310), or a combination thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 6 , FIG. 6 shows an example method 600 for usingwearable devices to capture actions of users participating withinvirtual conferences. This example will be described with respect to thesystem 400 shown in FIGS. 4A-4C; however, any system for virtualconferences according to this disclosure may be employed.

At block 602, a user device 445 initiates and/or receives a request toconnect to a wearable device 460. The wearable device 460 and the userdevice 445 can be connected using any combination of methods. Forexample, the user device 445 uses a wired connection, Bluetooth, NFC,etc. communication medium to establish a peer-to-peer connection. In oneexample, the connection can be a pre-existing connection and/orautomatic connection that gets established any time both the user device445 and the wearable device 460 are paired and within range of oneanother. In another example, the connection can be automatically ormanually established through the operating system of the user device 445and/or through one or more applications running on the user device 445.

At block 604, a user device 445 transmits a request for connectioninformation to a virtual conference device 430. In this example, theuser device 445 launches a virtual conference application 450 thatincludes an option for connecting to available virtual conferences. Forexample, a user of the user device 445 may select an option 484 in a GUI480 provided by the virtual conference application 450 to transmit therequest to join an on-going virtual conference. To transmit the request,in one example, the virtual conference application can trigger the userdevice 445 speaker to transmit an ultrasonic signal that can be receivedby the virtual conference device 430, although any other combination ofrequest mediums can be used to transmit the request, such as Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, NFC, etc. Moreover, in some examples, the user device 445 maynot need to transmit a request for connection information. As discussedbelow, the virtual conference device 430 may repeatedly transmitultrasonic signals that include connection information. Alternatively,the user device 445 may obtain connection information by opticallyscanning a QR code or bar code.

At block 606, the user device 445 connects to the virtual conferencedevice 430, generally as discussed above with respect to block 604. Theconnection through to the virtual conference device 430 can beestablished using the connection information from block 604. Forexample, the connection information can include address information andcredentials or encryption for establishing a peer-to-peer connection. Insome examples, the virtual conference device 430 will first verify theuser is authorized to connect to the virtual conference device 430. Oncea connection between the virtual conference device 430 and the userdevice 445 is established, the user device 445 can provide inputinformation (and receive output information from) to the virtualconference through a virtual conference application running on the userdevice 445. The data shared between the user device 445 and the virtualconference can be facilitated through the connection between the userdevice 445 and the virtual conference device 430. Additionally, the userdevice 445 can act as an intermediary device between the wearable device460 and the virtual conference device 430 providing an expression inputto the virtual conference device 430 based on data received from thewearable device 460. The connections between the user device 445 andeach of the wearable device 460 and the virtual conference device 430can be different connection types. For example, the connection to thevirtual conference device 430 can be a peer-to-peer or internetconnection whereas the connection to the wearable device 460 can be aBluetooth connection. In some instances, the user device 445 can provideidentifying information to the virtual conference device 430, such thatthe virtual conference device 430 can associated data received from theuser device 445 with a particular participant within the virtualconference.

At block 608, the user device 445 receives sensor data from the wearabledevice 460. The sensor data can be received as part of the normaloperation and pairing between the wearable device 460 and the userdevice 445. Additionally, the virtual conference application running onthe user device 445 can request access to the data provided by thewearable device 460 for use within a virtual conference. This accessrequest can be prompted to the user or provided as part of theapplication's permissions. For example, a user of the user device 445may select an option 488 in a GUI 480 provided by the virtual conferenceapplication to establish data sharing with the wearable device 460. Thesensor data can include any combination of information captured by thewearable device 460 and can vary depending on the type of wearabledevice 460. For example, the sensor data can be any combination ofmotion, location, biometric, audio, video, etc. data.

At block 610, the user device 445 interprets or otherwise processes thesensor data to determine if any actions should be performed and/or anyinformation should be shared with the virtual conference device 430. Forexample, the user device 445 can compare the sensor data topredetermined rules or patterns to identify an expression, if any,associated with the sensor data. The predetermined rules or patterns canbe designed to identify physical activity of the wearer of the wearabledevice 460 and can be associated with an expression for that physicalactivity. For example, if the sensor on the wearable device 460 detectsthat the wearer is raising and holding the wearable device 460 for morethan 5 seconds in a substantially vertical direction over apredetermined distance, the user device 445 can determine this actionrepresents a raised hand which corresponds to a hand raising expression.In another example, if the sensor on the wearable device 460 detectsthat the wearable device 460 has been shaking three times at asubstantially horizontal direction over a predetermined distance, theuser device 445 can determine this action represents as applaudexpression. Similarly, if the user device 445 detects that a wearer ismaking a waving motion, the motion data captured by the wearable device460 may match a predefined pattern for waving which is associated with agraphical representation of a hand waving. In other words, when the userdevice 445 recognizes data from the wearable device 460 matching apattern for an expression, the expression is identified.

At block 612, the user device 445 transmits the identified expression tothe virtual conference device 430 to be provided to the virtualconference provider 410 for conveyance within a virtual conference. Asdiscussed with respect to method 700 below, the virtual conferencedevice 430 receives the expressions from the user device 445 andtransmits the expressions to the virtual conference provider 410 to beconveyed within a virtual conference. The expressions can be associatedwith the general common area 450 associated with the virtual conferencedevice 430 or it can be associated with a particular user or user device445 (e.g., using the user device 445 identifier provided to the virtualconference device 430).

Although the method 600 is discussed with respect to using a single userdevice 445, wearable device 460, virtual conference device 430, etc.,any number of and any combination of the devices can be used withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, insteadof the wearable device 460 establishing a connection with a user device445 and the user device determining an expression based on the datareceived from the wearable device 460, the wearable device 460 canestablish a connection directly with the virtual conference device 430and the virtual conference device 430 can determine the expression orthe wearable device 460 can determine an expression based on its ownsensor data and provide it to the user device 445 and/or the virtualconference device 430.

Referring now to FIG. 7 , FIG. 7 shows an example method 700 for usingwearable devices to capture actions of users participating withinvirtual conferences. This example will be described with respect to thesystem 400 shown in FIGS. 4A-4C; however, any system for virtualconferences according to this disclosure may be employed.

At block 704, the virtual conference device 430 receives a request forconnection information from the user device 445. The virtual conferencedevice 430 and the user device 445 can be connected using anycombination of methods. For example, the virtual conference device 430can use a microphone array to receive an ultrasonic request signal froma user device 445 and the virtual conference device 430 can transmitconnection information to the user device 445 by outputting anultrasonic signal using one or more of its speakers. The connectioninformation can include any combination of information to enable anetwork connection between the user device 445 and the virtualconference device 430. For examples, the connection information mayinclude an IP address, a passcode, a URL, etc.

It should be appreciated that in some examples, a user device 445 maynot send a request for connection information. Instead, the virtualconference device 430 may repeatedly transmit connection information,such as embedded within an ultrasonic signal such that the user device445 only needs to receive the ultrasonic signal and extract theconnection information. Further, as discussed above, the user device 445may obtain connection information from QR codes or bar codes affixed tothe virtual conference device 430 or through another communicationtechnique, such as Bluetooth, NFC, etc. to establish a peer-to-peerconnection.

The request may include any suitable information, such as an identity ofthe user or an identity of the device. Such information may be used toverify that the user or the device are authorized to connect to thevirtual conference device 430. For example, the virtual conferencedevice 430 may maintain or have access to a whitelist of authorizedusers or devices. If the user or device is present on the whitelist, thevirtual conference device 430 may allow the device to connect at block706 below. Otherwise, it may reject or deny the connection.

At block 706, regardless of how the connection is established, theconnection between the virtual conference device 430 and the user device445 enables the virtual conference device 430 to receive data from theuser device 445.

At block 708, the virtual conference device 430 receives an expressionfrom the user device 445 that was received by the user device 445 from awearable device 460 paired with the user device 445. The expression caninclude any combination of available expressions created for displaywithin a virtual conference. For example, the expression can be apictogram, logogram, ideogram, emoji, etc. that represents a physicalaction of a wearer of the wearable device. The physical cation caninclude gestures such as thumbs up, clapping, clapping, waving,beckoning, head nodding, head shaking, etc. While the expression mayhave been identified by the user device 445 processing data from awearable device 460, the virtual conference device 430 may treat theexpression as it would any other expression input. For example, theexpression received from the user device 445 interpreting wearabledevice 460 data can be treated the same as if a user manually input theexpression within a chat window at the virtual conference device 430.

In some instances, the virtual conference device 430 can associate thereceived expression with a user identifier and/or device identifier(user device 445 or wearable device 460). For example, if a user devicehaving a specific identifier (e.g., from step 704) provides anexpression, that expression can be associated with the identifierproviding the expression.

At block 710, the virtual conference device 430 transmits the expressionreceived from the user device 445 to the virtual conference provider 410as though the expression had been input into the virtual conferencedevice 430, e.g., through a local input device. Thus, the expressionpresents to the virtual conference provider 410 as originating from thevirtual conference device 430 rather than from the user device 445.Though in some examples, the virtual conference device 430 may includeidentification information associated with the user device 445 (orwearable device 460), such as a username or a device identifier. In thisexample, the virtual conference device 430 is connected to a virtualconference hosted by a virtual conference provider 410.

While the operations of processes 600 and 700 are described as beingperformed by the systems 400, it should be understood that any suitabledevice may be used to perform one or more operations of this process.Processes 600 and 700 described above) are illustrated as logical flowdiagrams, each operation of which represents a sequence of operationsthat can be implemented in hardware, computer instructions, or acombination thereof. Additionally, any of the blocks can be performed bythe various components of the system 400. For example, the blocks can beperformed on a server or cloud, on a client computing device, or acombination thereof. In the context of computer instructions, theoperations represent computer-executable instructions stored on one ormore computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, perform the recited operations. Generally,computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, and the like that perform functions orimplement data types. The order in which the operations are described isnot intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of thedescribed operations can be combined in any order and/or in parallel toimplement the processes 600 and 700.

In operation, participants can enter a shared common area, with some ofthe participants having wearable devices. To include the functionalitydiscussed herein, the users with wearable devices need to establish theconnection between the wearable device and the virtual conferencedevice. The connection can be made directly or through an intermediarydevice, such as their personal computing device (e.g., smart phone). Forexample, a participant with a smart watch can run a virtual conferenceapplication on their smart phone, paired with the smart watch, toestablish a connection with the virtual conference device in the commonarea. After the connection is established successfully, the virtualconference device will identify the user as the current participant inthis common area within the virtual conference. As the participantnatural interacts when speaking and/or when physically interactingduring a conversations, the wearable device can provide sensor datarelated to the interactions to the user's device for interpretation.Thereafter, the user's device can identify the user's actions (e.g., theuser's expressions) based on an analysis of the received sensor data.Continuing the example, the smart phone can recognize the user's handmovements through the sensors of the smart watch (e.g., applauding,raising hands, clapping, waving, beckoning, etc.) and associated thosehand movements with an expression that is viewable in the virtualconference. The viewable expression can then be sent by the user'sdevice to the virtual conference provider via the virtual conferencedevice. Lastly, the viewable expression can be displayed within thevirtual conference by the virtual conference provider and all of theusers can see that the expression is being conveyed from the common areameeting room.

Referring now to FIG. 8 , FIG. 8 shows an example computing device 800suitable for use in example systems or methods according to thisdisclosure. The example computing device 800 includes a processor 810which is in communication with the memory 820 and other components ofthe computing device 800 using one or more communications buses 802. Theprocessor 810 is configured to execute processor-executable instructionsstored in the memory 820 to perform one or more methods for in-meetingfollow-up schedulers for video conferences according to differentexamples, such as part or all of the example methods 600, 700 describedabove with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7 . The computing device 800, in thisexample, also includes one or more user input devices 850, such as akeyboard, mouse, touchscreen, microphone, etc., to accept user input.The computing device 800 also includes a display 840 to provide visualoutput to a user.

In addition, the computing device 800 includes a video conferencingapplication 860 to enable a user to join and participate in a videoconference, such as a conventional meeting or webinar, by receivingmultimedia streams from a video conference provider, sending multimediastreams to the video conference provider, joining and leaving breakoutrooms, engaging in participant interactions during a virtual, etc. suchas described throughout this disclosure, etc.

The computing device 800 also includes a communications interface 840.In some examples, the communications interface 830 may enablecommunications using one or more networks, including a local areanetwork (“LAN”); wide area network (“WAN”), such as the Internet;metropolitan area network (“MAN”); point-to-point or peer-to-peerconnection; etc. Communication with other devices may be accomplishedusing any suitable networking protocol. For example, one suitablenetworking protocol may include the Internet Protocol (“IP”),Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”), User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”),or combinations thereof, such as TCP/IP or UDP/IP.

While some examples of methods and systems herein are described in termsof software executing on various machines, the methods and systems mayalso be implemented as specifically configured hardware, such asfield-programmable gate array (FPGA) specifically to execute the variousmethods according to this disclosure. For example, examples can beimplemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware,firmware, software, or in a combination thereof. In one example, adevice may include a processor or processors. The processor comprises acomputer-readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM) coupledto the processor. The processor executes computer-executable programinstructions stored in memory, such as executing one or more computerprograms. Such processors may comprise a microprocessor, a digitalsignal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and state machines. Suchprocessors may further comprise programmable electronic devices such asPLCs, programmable interrupt controllers (PICs), programmable logicdevices (PLDs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs), electronicallyprogrammable read-only memories (EPROMs or EEPROMs), or other similardevices.

Such processors may comprise, or may be in communication with, media,for example one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, that maystore processor-executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, can cause the processor to perform methods according to thisdisclosure as carried out, or assisted, by a processor. Examples ofnon-transitory computer-readable medium may include, but are not limitedto, an electronic, optical, magnetic, or other storage device capable ofproviding a processor, such as the processor in a web server, withprocessor-executable instructions. Other examples of non-transitorycomputer-readable media include, but are not limited to, a floppy disk,CD-ROM, magnetic disk, memory chip, ROM, RAM, ASIC, configuredprocessor, all optical media, all magnetic tape or other magnetic media,or any other medium from which a computer processor can read. Theprocessor, and the processing, described may be in one or morestructures, and may be dispersed through one or more structures. Theprocessor may comprise code to carry out methods (or parts of methods)according to this disclosure.

The foregoing description of some examples has been presented only forthe purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed.Numerous modifications and adaptations thereof will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure.

Reference herein to an example or implementation means that a particularfeature, structure, operation, or other characteristic described inconnection with the example may be included in at least oneimplementation of the disclosure. The disclosure is not restricted tothe particular examples or implementations described as such. Theappearance of the phrases “in one example,” “in an example,” “in oneimplementation,” or “in an implementation,” or variations of the same invarious places in the specification does not necessarily refer to thesame example or implementation. Any particular feature, structure,operation, or other characteristic described in this specification inrelation to one example or implementation may be combined with otherfeatures, structures, operations, or other characteristics described inrespect of any other example or implementation.

Use herein of the word “or” is intended to cover inclusive and exclusiveOR conditions. In other words, A or B or C includes any or all of thefollowing alternative combinations as appropriate for a particularusage: A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B only; A and C only; B and Conly; and A and B and C.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: connecting, by a userdevice, to at least one wearable device; connecting, by the user device,to a virtual conference device connected to a virtual conference hostedby a virtual conference provider; receiving, by the user device, sensordata from the at least one wearable device; identifying, by the userdevice, one or more expressions based on the sensor data; andtransmitting, by the user device, the identified one or more expressionsto the virtual conference device to be provided to the virtualconference provider for conveyance within the virtual conference.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the one or more expressions any combinationof a pictogram, a logogram, an ideogram, an emoji or combination thereofpresented within the virtual conference and representing a physicalaction performed by a wearer.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thepictogram, the logogram, the ideogram, the emoji or the combinationthereof represents the physical action of at least one of thumbs up,clapping, clapping, waving, beckoning, head nodding, head shaking, or acombination thereof.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor dataincludes data from at least one of a motion sensor, environmentalsensor, biosensor, imaging sensor, or a combination thereof.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the at least one wearable device is at leastone of a smart watch, smart jewelry, smart glasses, smart clothing, or acombination thereof.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying theone or more expressions based on the sensor data comprises comparing thesensor data to one or more predefined patterns for the one or moreexpressions.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying auser associated with the at least one wearable device; associating atleast one of the one or more expressions with the identified user.
 8. Asystem comprising: a communications interface; a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium; and one or more processors communicativelycoupled to the communications interface and the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the one or more processors configured toexecute processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium to: connect to at least one wearable device;connect to a virtual conference device connected to a virtual conferencehosted by a virtual conference provider; receive sensor data from the atleast one wearable device; identify one or more expressions based on thesensor data; and transmit the identified one or more expressions to thevirtual conference device to be provided to the virtual conferenceprovider for conveyance within the virtual conference.
 9. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the one or more expressions any combination of apictogram, a logogram, an ideogram, an emoji or combination thereofpresented within the virtual conference and representing a physicalaction performed by a wearer.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein thepictogram, the logogram, the ideogram, the emoji or the combinationthereof represents the physical action of at least one of thumbs up,clapping, clapping, waving, beckoning, head nodding, head shaking, or acombination thereof.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensor dataincludes data from at least one of a motion sensor, environmentalsensor, biosensor, imaging sensor, or a combination thereof.
 12. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the at least one wearable device is at leastone of a smart watch, smart jewelry, smart glasses, smart clothing, or acombination thereof.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein identifying theone or more expressions based on the sensor data comprises comparing thesensor data to one or more predefined patterns for the one or moreexpressions.
 14. The system of claim 8, further comprising: identifyinga user associated with the at least one wearable device; associating atleast one of the one or more expressions with the identified user.
 15. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium comprising processor-executableinstructions configured to cause one or more processors to: connect toat least one wearable device; connect to a virtual conference deviceconnected to a virtual conference hosted by a virtual conferenceprovider; receive sensor data from the at least one wearable device;identify one or more expressions based on the sensor data; and transmitthe identified one or more expressions to the virtual conference deviceto be provided to the virtual conference provider for conveyance withinthe virtual conference.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 15, wherein: the one or more expressions any combination of apictogram, a logogram, an ideogram, an emoji or combination thereofpresented within the virtual conference and representing a physicalaction performed by a wearer; and the pictogram, the logogram, theideogram, the emoji or the combination thereof represents the physicalaction of at least one of thumbs up, clapping, clapping, waving,beckoning, head nodding, head shaking, or a combination thereof.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the sensordata includes data from at least one of a motion sensor, environmentalsensor, biosensor, imaging sensor, or a combination thereof.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the atleast one wearable device is at least one of a smart watch, smartjewelry, smart glasses, smart clothing, or a combination thereof. 19.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, whereinidentifying the one or more expressions based on the sensor datacomprises comparing the sensor data to one or more predefined patternsfor the one or more expressions.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising: identifying auser associated with the at least one wearable device; associating atleast one of the one or more expressions with the identified user.